Extra! Extra! Read all about it: Oprah’s gone up a few dress sizes. That’s right folks. Among the many important global current events that were reported last week, this one made it to the top: “Oprah Winfrey says she weighs 200 lbs”. By her own admittance, Oprah has always battled with weight and body image. And she has been notorious over the years for her yo-yo weight gains and losses and the plethora of diets and “lifestyle changes” she has ventured upon.
Winfrey also writes that her goal is no longer to be thin; instead, she wants to be strong, healthy and fit.
So if thin isn’t the ultimate goal, why make a statement like the one below in which she is comparing her formerly thinner frame to her current 200-pound frame?
“I’m embarrassed,” she writes. “I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?’”
The point of this post is not really to talk about Oprah’s body issues (that is a whole other discussion). It’s to point out the absurdity of this type of story even making the front page! I mean really…there are SO many other very important and serious issues to be discussing right now. The U.S. is facing one of the most difficult economic times in history, there are politicians, lawyers and CEOs alike getting caught for doing seriously illegal things almost weekly and there are terrorist bombs going off all around the world. With these things in mind, do we really have time to discuss Oprah’s weight, especially considering the endless articles that have been done about this exact subject in the past?
As the reader who submitted this article to me wrote in the subject line of her email: “Do We Care?” Great question EAC reader! And the answer, at least for me, is “No, I don’t care!” So please media, stop asking Oprah about her weight issues and please, oh please, stop writing about it!
I had to comment on the same thing at The Curvy Life–is this story really worthy of massive national (and probably international) coverage?
My hope is always that stories like these will cause the public to realize that there is more to the question of weight loss and weight gain than will power and discipline. Who has more will than Oprah? However, the tone surrounding the coverage is more tongue-wagging than Ah Ha moment.
I don’t get it. She’s lovely, no matter what she weighs. We can’t focus on serious stuff all the time, but I agree that she needs to keep her weight out of public discourse. Or, how wonderful would it be if she said, “Yeah, I weigh 200 lbs and my life is great at every weight, and yours can be too!”? Barring that, I don’t want to hear it.
I agree, it is just ridiculous that a story like this gets such billing. It was front and center on Yahoo news the day it came out.
Having said that, Oprah opened the door by repeatedly publicizing her weight struggles and obsession. So, I’ll take the liberty of commenting.
When I saw the article on Yahoo news, there was a photo next to it. The headline was something like “Oprah says she weighs 200 lbs”. I looked at the picture, and thought, “WOW. She looks fantastic. So that’s what 200 lbs. can look like”. THEN I read the article and was dismayed by her “embarassment” and self-berating. And the photo was NOT old, it was from early December. It was Oprah, looking stunning, happening to weigh 200 lbs.
I know there are often legitimate reasons for wanting to lose weight- certain health conditions, knee problems etc. may possibly be eased by weighing less. But if you’re healthy and fit, why should it matter, and more importantly, why should Oprah, a (I thought) strong, indepedent-minded woman who arguably influences such important things as a Presidential election, spend time and energy at all, let alone so publicly, on such an issue? I was extremely disappointed.
“Do We Care?” This same question came to mind when I first heard of this outrageous topic along side with important news coverage on GMA one morning. Seriously, the head line was “Oprah Struggles with Her Weight Gain” right next to “The Terrorist Attack in India”….Um, Oprah’s weight is not important news. Really, like there’s not enough struggles going on in our world today besides her weight. I had to change the channel because I was really concerned with the attack in India and do you know what I saw when I turned to channel 5? more news about Oprah’s weight. It was a sad morning for me.
With the media focussing so much on celebrities’weight and always imparting the message that a person’s weight control is so important, it is hard to blame Oprah and other celebrities for getting obsessed with their weight and figure. I feel bad for them. And yes, it is hard to blame the mllions of other women around the world too who subconsciously catch this message.
That being said, I have to mention that though I never had the chance to watch a lot of her episodes, a few I did had women speaking on the success of their weight loss and how wonderful life was for them after that. Though these were women who had been obese before and lost weight for health purposes, I doubt if the “health “message was emphasized. Even if it was, I guess it was lost on the viewers. I think most of them would have been like “Wow! She made it… She looks so great and confident after the weight loss”
I am not critisizing the show. I am just saying that she herself gets to be a part of this media and its messages. I am just giving an example of how most of the live talk shows and reality shows too focus only on this and I think they have a greater impact than a column in newspaper. I am sure we dont have many shows on how people sucessfully controlled diabetes or cholestrol. ( Unfortunately many wouldnt be interested either )
Poor O.
I, too, was sad to read about how she feels ashamed of herself because of her “unruly” body. The expectation of “sameness” is so unrealistic…even for a person with plenty of money like Miss O., who can no doubt afford massages, facial and body treatments, couture clothing in whatever size she is, personal chefs and trainers…even with all that, even the all-powerful O cannot stop her body from changing.
And with that, she also knows that people, in general, are still interested in Weight Loss, hers, theirs, and everyones, so I’m sure O will want to turn it around (in a positive way, of course) so that she continues to be a weight-losing hero or whatev.
She opened that can of worms back in the 80’s or whenever she initially publicly lost weight and called attention to it.
Those girls at her school in Africa are all probly wishing they could have big O’s extra poundage! *haha!*
Oprah! Stop flipping out and eat a cheeseburger!
thank you so much for this…I was starting to think I was the only one who didnt….give a care and wished O would just embrace and move the hell on
The second thing that strikes me about a “story” such as this (Oprah weighs 200 pounds! extra! read all about it!)….is that…even with all her fame and fortune, literally, she’s worth dollars and dollars, and having done so much for so many others…I want Oprah to NOT CARE about her size. All that going for her and what does she do.
Despairs and feels “embarassed” about her figure.
I know she’s human, but she could be setting a better example, being so popular in the public eye.
:: sigh ::